My Anorexic Son...

So, ever since Bry was little he had a major throwing up problem. Well, actually not til he started eating baby food. He did great with a bottle and actually didn't throw up all that much with the formula. Then, when we started baby food he had problems with texture. He'd throw up if he didn't like the texture, taste, if there was too much in his mouth or if he was full and I spooned up some food and put it next to his mouth. That last one is NOT a joke. He really would see food and gag and then throw up. I counted my blessings EVERY day that I didn't get a high chair that was cloth. My friend had a really cute high chair and I ALMOST got the same one... luckily, I came to my senses and realized that it would be a pain to clean up. Little did I know that my little man would be throwing up AT LEAST once a day... a lot of times more! So, I've dealt with the throwing up for 3 1/2 years. It's gotten a TON better, don't get me wrong. He throws up like once every couple of weeks. But, he's definitely not over that texture thing. He doesn't like chicken very much. When he was younger I'd disguise the chicken pieces (VERY little chicken pieces, mind you) in some mashed potatoes, which Bry LOVES. He would actually swallow the mashed potatoes and spit the chicken pieces out. Yeah, it's true. Or, if I was REALLY lucky, he'd throw up. I don't think it's just the texture though. I think he has a pretty bad gag reflex in general too. This might have stemmed from him being on a feeding tube for 3 weeks in the NICU. Anyway. He'll eat chicken now though. Not a ton, but he'll eat some. So, here's my dilemma. Last night we had some stir fry. You know, the normal stir fry, noodles, chicken and veggies. Bry wasn't eating very much so I was bribing him, like all moms do... right?? Come on Bry, eat all your dinner and you can have a cookie. We all do that, right?? Right?? :) So, he was having some problems with finishing the last of his noodles so I put some on the fork and was helping him eat TWO more bites. He at the first one, no problem. Then, the second and LAST bite had a piece of chicken. I gave him plenty of warning. "OK Bry. This has chicken but you need to eat it. Then you can have a cookie." So, after mashing the chicken up I put it in his mouth and apparently it was NOT ok with him. He looks at me, gags and then proceeds to throw up HIS WHOLE DINNER. He of course keeps all the throw up inside the plate... I've taught my boy VERY well, so there isn't really much clean up. But after he throws up he looks at me, smiles every so sweetly and says... "all done Mommy, cookie now??" Yep. It's true. He knew that he ate all of his dinner. He knew that after he ate said dinner he'd get a cookie. So what do I do?? Give him the cookie?? He ate all his dinner, he just threw it all up afterward!! And, go past the cookie dilemma for just a minute. Do I make him eat some more dinner?? Of course he was hungry right before bedtime. He'd thrown up his dinner for crying out loud! So, do I give him the noodles that he threw up before or do I make him something else?? I'm a big believer in making ONE meal. If my kids don't want it they can get down and when they're hungry they can eat the SAME dinner... just nuked in the microwave. But, when Bry throws up the meal I feel so very bad. I think that he really does have some weird texture thing that hopefully he'll grow out of. But, until then, do I cater to it? Ty totally does. He'll make Bry whatever he wants if he doesn't like dinner or throws it up. That's what Ty did last night. He made grilled cheese. So, I guess it's good that Bryson has both a mom AND a dad. After I've made dinner and Bry has thrown it up and I can't deal with it ANYMORE, Ty will come in, make something else and let me go downstairs and watch TV or whatever. This way, Bryson doesn't starve! :) Hopefully, in the years to come Bry will be able to eat chicken without gagging. Maybe he'll start eating M&M's. Yep, he threw up a blue one the other day... all over my carpet. Nothin' better than blue throw up. Maybe he'll eat new stuff without sticking his tongue out and "tasting" it first. Until then, I'll just have to deal with my gagging, throwing up, sweet as can be, quirky little man.